Brooks Oprik most likely will and should be suspended, minimum 2 games. Hit was in front of my area & it looked like folded his arms into
Cole's neck and head against the board. Brooks didn't speak with reporters,or at least I couldn't find anything in the city's 2 extensive hockey sections Orpik always speaks to reporters so I'm guessing he realizes it was penalty worthy of suspension. Hopefully he'll apologize to Cole and sit out with his punishment. Brooks had a boarding against the wild and maybe 1 in 03/04; is this a pattern? Or just boards that
happen?

Now Peter Laviolette & canes trying to equate that since Cole is a good
player on great team time susupended should be more since penguins
are nothing. Obviously I would hope NHL doesn't decide games suspended based on how good a season is going and whether you're a playoff team.

Now Peter Laviolette & canes trying to equate that since Cole is a good
player on great team time susupended should be more since penguins
are nothing. Obviously I would hope NHL doesn't decide games suspended based on how good a season is going and whether you're a playoff team.[/quote]

from R Brind'Amour
"I understand playing hard, but you don't run guys from behind _ ever," captain Rod Brind'Amour said. "I mean I have played 100 years and I've never run a guy from behind. That's one of the best players in the league, Erik Cole, and we need him, and these guys aren't really playing for anything. It's frustrating."

I don't see it as a pattern. Orpik is a tough customer and we could use 2 or 3 more of him. I'm not saying he shouldn't be punished. It clearly was boarding.

I just don't think it was his intention to injury him. If Cole stayed upright it would have been a hit like any other. Cole lost his edge though and went headfirst into the boards. Its that area a couple feet off the boards thats so dangerous to hit someone, but it happens every night. Orpik plays hard but he's not a dirty player.

Orpik will likely get 3-5 games and deservedly so. I know that Cole turned towards the boards as Orpik approached, but in my opinion he had time to pull up. Maybe not to avoid contact entirely, but he certainly could have avoided what happened. I don't think there was intent to injure though.

Maybe the NHL should take a hint from youth hockey and put stop signs on everyone's backs.

Orpik punished the guy like he does so often. That is his style and he has no problem with playing 60 minutes of hockey no matter whta the score, I like the attitude and the way he plays the game.

It was unfortuneate that Cole put his head down, I guess he was falling forward alitte. That is why you NEVER put your head down when going into the boards. It can't be helped sometimes and this is what happens. I understand Brind 'Amour being pissed off about this but anymore than acouple of games is unjust in this case. Hitting from behind is not allowed but if Cole had his head up that is only a 2-minute minor according to the NHL rules.

netwolf wrote:Maybe the NHL should take a hint from youth hockey and put stop signs on everyone's backs.

LOL! There's a thought! Or perhaps someone can invent 'get a brain' pills & Orpik can get a lifetime prescription.

He's annoying the heck out of me right now 'cuz I was dubious of him from day one, but I really saw marked improvement in his game this year while being paired with Gonchar. I was even singing his praises after some games. But that all appears to be a short-lived improvement & he's back to making those terrible on-ice decisions once again.

NIN wrote:It was unfortuneate that Cole put his head down, I guess he was falling forward alitte. That is why you NEVER put your head down when going into the boards. It can't be helped sometimes and this is what happens. I understand Brind 'Amour being pissed off about this but anymore than acouple of games is unjust in this case. Hitting from behind is not allowed but if Cole had his head up that is only a 2-minute minor according to the NHL rules.

That's very generous of you to say...almost homeristic. Would you *honestly* say the same thing if Orpik was wearing different colors & Eric Cole was your player? C'mon! There was no need for Cole to have his head up because he was momentarily facing the boards & at least three feet away from them. Orpik leapt up, knocked him down & drove him into the boards.

Don't attack the victim because he doesn't happen to be on your team.
Here's a good photo captured right at moment of impact.

Sorry, no pity for Cole. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Erik Cole plays with and sometimes over the edge. Did Orpik board him, yes. Did Cole turn his shoulders just as Orpik was performing the hit, yes.

If Orpik receives anything more than three games, you have to wonder if the comments after the game by Carolina about the hit and his reputation came into play.

Ginger wrote:That's very generous of you to say...almost homeristic. Would you *honestly* say the same thing if Orpik was wearing different colors & Eric Cole was your player?

Don't attack the victim because he doesn't happen to be on your team. Here's a good photo captured right at moment of impact.

Kind of like when Ouellete got hit from behind and got hurt but had the pressence of mind to keep his head up so he did'nt get seriously injured and we are not all wasteing time typing about other players who get more seriously injured because they keep their heads down when a Kasparish player is right behind them.

Take your medicine Cole, don't be a ***** and turtle. I am sitting here with a messed up neck of my own because I got hit from behind in a game but STILL had my head up enough to avoid possibly being paralyzed and do I hold a grude? I was pissed but I also cross checked a guy from behind earlier in that same game. Hockey is a tough sport, there are big angry men with sticks and those boards DO not move. Not to mention sharp skates and a frozen rubber disk that flys at your face and balls 100 mph.

NIN wrote:Kind of like when Ouellete got hit from behind and got hurt but had the pressence of mind to keep his head up so he did'nt get seriously injured and we are not all wasteing time typing about other players who get more seriously injured because they keep their heads down when a Kasparish player is right behind them.

Take your medicine Cole, don't be a ***** and turtle. I am sitting here with a messed up neck of my own because I got hit from behind in a game but STILL had my head up enough to avoid possibly being paralyzed and do I hold a grude? I was pissed but I also cross checked a guy from behind earlier in that same game. Hockey is a tough sport, there are big angry men with sticks and those boards DO not move. Not to mention sharp skates and a frozen rubber disk that flys at your face and balls 100 mph.

I can't wait till the doctors clear me to play. **** Cole!

I'm not comparing it to any other incident; I'm judging it one on one like a court of law does. Say what you will about Cole being an edgy player; I don't disagree. But it still doesn't make what Orpik did *right*. And if you study that photo I posted closely, you will also note that Orpik was pushing Coles head down for that head to boards impact.
You're not paralyzed & thank goodness for that. Being paralyzed is a b!tch. Let's hope Cole comes out of this with only a temporary injury & is able to play again next season.

I'd rather see Ulf, or Darius, or Brooks layout a bit hit, than see a Ronnie Francis type slapshot. Having said that, there are rules. Nothing is more disgusting than knee on knee or boarding like what Brooks did to Cole.

That's not to condem Brooks. He made a split second decision that was wrong, I've made a few of them myself. I've also paid the price.

I'm glad eric wasn't paralyzed. I'm also glad Brooks was suspended. Might help the next time he's in the same position.

Well thanks for your kind words I will know more tommarrow (waiting a month for a neck specialist is insane!) about my situation. I am sure Cole will be fine. He probably got some vertibrae jammed-which is never a good thing- but hopefully he will be back in action soon. Everyone should be very releived that he is OK enough to skate opff the ice.

As for the picture it doesnt tell the whole story. On the replay it looked to me that Orpik could have let up after realizing Cole had his head down but he did'nt. The picture shown there is after the fact and the jumping could have been Orpik trying to divert his momnentum. When you have a guy lined up and are going full steam ahead it isnt natural to try and let up in a fraction of a second. If you throw Orpik's histroy away as well as Cole's I think you have a 2 game suspension issued here and everyone moves on.

That kid pictured there got a lesson in heads up hockey if you ask me and I think Cole made a mistake and he should feel lucky that it wasn't worse. Like I sadi sometimes it can't be helped but you always have to protect yourself going into the boards face first and the best thing to do is carry yourself in with your head up and just absorb the hit.

NIN wrote:Well thanks for your kind words I will know more tommarrow (waiting a month for a neck specialist is insane!) about my situation. I am sure Cole will be fine. He probably got some vertibrae jammed-which is never a good thing- but hopefully he will be back in action soon. Everyone should be very releived that he is OK enough to skate opff the ice.

Did you not ready the story lined above? Cole has a broken neck, not just some jammed vertebrae, and is out for the rest of the regular season at least.

Just because Cole had his head down does excuse Orpik from not laying off. Maybe Cole would not have been hurt as bad, bad he would have been. Orpik should have laid off. He didn't and he'll serve a suspension for it.

Broken neck, jammed vertebrae same thing. Keep your harp tuned for when someone gets paralized out there. Don't worry it will happen soon enough because players like Cole will keep there heads down. Oh sure it will be another black eye for the sport, but wihtout hitting what is hockey? I changed my mind about Orpik being able to let up, it was too fast a play and there was nothing he could have done. Orpik isn't trying to cripple people but he can't help it if he is stronger than most and does a ton of damage when hitting. Orpik makes that hit 2 or 3 times a game when he is playing well and everybody cheers and the play continutes. So should Orpik slow his game down or should players keep there heads up? I am a victim of a hit from behind and you could say my neck is broke too. If the definition is bones that arent where they should be is broken then its broke. It was a dirty hit but at the same time I did'nt do enough to prepare myself for the hit. I did'nt pick my head up fast enough and I got hurt. Also it doesnt help that im not exactly a model athlete and that guy is a tank.

Broken neck, jammed vertebrae same thing. Keep your harp tuned for when someone gets paralized out there. Don't worry it will happen soon enough because players like Cole will keep there heads down. Oh sure it will be another black eye for the sport, but wihtout hitting what is hockey? I changed my mind about Orpik being able to let up, it was too fast a play and there was nothing he could have done. Orpik isn't trying to cripple people but he can't help it if he is stronger than most and does a ton of damage when hitting. Orpik makes that hit 2 or 3 times a game when he is playing well and everybody cheers and the play continutes. So should Orpik slow his game down or should players keep there heads up? I am a victim of a hit from behind and you could say my neck is broke too. If the definition is bones that arent where they should be is broken then its broke. It was a dirty hit but at the same time I did'nt do enough to prepare myself for the hit. I did'nt pick my head up fast enough and I got hurt. Also it doesnt help that im not exactly a model athlete and that guy is a tank.

Let's look at this another way ... if that was Crosby getting decked into the boards from behind, by oh say - Derian Hatcher - would you think it was Crosby's fault that he got hurt because he didn't have his head up fast enough? Or that Hatcher didn't have any time to pull up or react to the situation? I'm sure if that happened you would be screaming about how dirty and cheap of a player Hatcher is. You probably wouldn't think for one second to say Crosby should have put his head up before getting hit into the boards. C'mon, this is ludacris. Orpik hit a guy when he shouldn't have. He BROKE Cole's neck. He should be suspended and he rightly will.[/quote]

You cant look at the pic after the hit and slam Orpik for having his feet in the air..... of course they are he is falling over Coles body as he bounces of the board. At the point of contact he has both feet on the ice.

By this point Orpik is already commited to the hit and has been for a few seconds, his left leg is competely extended clearly at the end of his stride.

Look at the position Cole has gotten into even before Orpik makes any contact. Knee's completely bent, his butt cant be more than a foot off the ice and he might even be losing an edge.

Now Orpik can have no way to know that Cole is going to make that cut back when he does, if Cole had taken another stride in the direction he was originally headed he would have reached the glass at the same time Orpik reached him. Result would have been a loud bang as both players rattled the boards but no serious harm.

Orpik got in "trouble" because he didnt guess the player he had commited to hitting was going to cut back and partially stumble right in front of him.

Thanks for the blow up picture it proved my point perfectly. Orpik should receive acouple of games for that hit and it was a major penalty. Cole might have thought that he was strong enough to soften the blow by positioning himself but Orpik is much stronger and Cole got messed up as a result. Orpik is a dirty player but not to the extent of Hatcher or Kasparitus. The sooner he embraces his tough guy dirty hockey player cheap shot image the happier I will be, every team needs a guy who will keep the other team honest when going for loose pucks.

When Crosby gets messed up I look at it subjectively as I HAVE ALWAYS done. He got his teeth knocked out on a seemingly innocent play, I was pissed because I don't like the Flyers and that is our star but other then that who really cares? Crosby threw in elbow at Hatcher's chops on the VERY SAME PLAY. That is hockey my friend and I would'nt have it any other way. If Crosby is stupid enough to put his head down into the boards when a Orpik sized player is finishing a check behind him then guess what I will be saying? Keep your head up! If I can tell myself that im sure these guys can too. Otherwise just get rid of hitting all together and see how much fun it is to watch. Players get hurt in these types of games like football and hockey and it isnt always because of Bertuzzi and McSorley. Plenty of accident will occur when your on SKATES and surrounded by boards that dont **** move. They call it hockey! If Crosby gets hit I will be pissed but after that it it is a case by case basis. Thus is the lot of being a passionate hockey fan.

Last edited by NIN on Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:43 am, edited 1 time in total.